Apparatus for winding, housing and storing webbing

ABSTRACT

A handheld webbing winder useful for winding, housing, storing and organizing webbing comprising a substantially circular cover with an opening and a substantially centered, slotted hub running horizontally through the cover, which connects to an external, finger-operated winding disk that may be operably engaged to wind and unwind webbing.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/129,129, filed Dec. 22, 2020 entitled “Apparatus for Winding, Housing and Storing Webbing” and is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tens of thousands of general use webbing/webbing ratchets are used every day in this country by professional truck drivers and outdoor and power sports enthusiasts and the public to secure loads to trucks and trailers. When not in use, such webbing is often stored in a disorganized manner by most and coiled neatly by only the most organized persons. The latter being tedious and time-consuming. This compact webbing winder meets the widespread need to wind quickly and easily 16′ to 20′ lengths of webbing onto a reel for fast, easy, organized storage and quick deployment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For years I have looked for and been unable to find a simple tool to wind and organized the 10-15 (16′-20′ in length) ratchet straps that I use on a regular basis. This simple invention meets that need.

The webbing winder/storage reel is intended to provide a SIMPLE, compact webbing/strap winder consisting of three basic parts:

-   -   1) a rigid cover with an opening (envision a round, plastic tape         measure cover),     -   2) a slotted, rigid, centered spindle with an external, slotted         flange on one side, and     -   3) a rigid, finger-operated winding disk connected externally to         the spindle opposite the spindle flange.

The user holds the winder cover in one hand, aligns the split flange slot with the side cover opening, inserts the free end of the webbing/strapping into the aligned openings and reels the webbing into the cover by turning the external winding disk with a single finger, via the winding disk finger hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 : Exterior view of webbing winder/strap storage reel—split flange side

FIG. 2 : Exterior view of webbing winder/storage reel—winding disk/finger hole side

FIG. 3 : Exterior view of webbing winder/storage reel—Webbing/strap insertion path

FIG. 4 : Split Spindle Flange, Split Spindle & Winding Disk w/Finger Hole—Sans cover

FIG. 5 : Cross-section of loaded webbing/strap storage reel

FIG. 6 : Conceptual view of stacked/stored webbing winder reels

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The rigid cover (1) has a thin opening (4) on the same side as the slotted spindle flange, running from the center spindle hole to the outer edge and across the face of the cover (4 a). This opening serves as the receiver for the free end of the webbing.

The split spindle (2) is fully enclosed within the rigid, molded cover, running completely through precisely sized holes in the cover and connecting on one side to the rigid, external winding disk (5) which rides closely against the outer indented (FIG. 5 , note), flat surface of the cover. The winding disk (5) has a finger hole (6) offset from the center toward the outer edge of the winding disk. The user inserts the tip of their finger into the hole and rotates the winding disk while holding the cover with the other hand.

The opposite, external end of the split spindle (3) consists of a split flange (2), larger in circumference than the spindle, that fits over a raised, circular track on the outer flat surface of the cover around the edge of the spindle hole in the cover. The raised circular track adds stability to the split spindle. The 4 internal edges of the split spindle are designed to grip the webbing as it bends over the spindle edge when the spindle is rotated, thus binding and drawing the webbing into the cover, wrapping it snuggly around the spindle, neatly enclosed in the cover.

To load the reel, the user simply rotates the split spindle flange (2), via the finger-operated winding disk (5), until its slot aligns with the cover opening (4). The free end of the webbing is then inserted into the aligned spindle and cover openings (FIG. 3 ). After the webbing is inserted, the user holds the outer edge of the cover in one hand and rotates the finger-operated winding disk in either direction with the other hand, thus reeling the webbing into the cover and around the spindle, the entire task taking mere seconds. The loaded reel can then be stored in an organized fashion (FIG. 6 ) for easy identification and subsequent, hassle free, webbing use. Additionally, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to flip the cover to accommodate both right and left-handed users.

To deploy the stored webbing the user can easily and quickly pull it out of the cover or, due to the lack of friction or any ratcheting mechanism, can affix the hook-end of the webbing to the desired anchor point and pull the cover in the direction of the intended anchor point for the webbing ratchet.

Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A winder for a strap comprising: a winding disk; a spindle extending from a surface of the winding disk; wherein the spindle comprises a split flange for receiving a strap, a cover rotatably attached to the winding disk, the cover comprising a disk portion and a wall portion; wherein the disk portion comprises an opening for receiving the strap and the wall portion comprise an opening for receiving the strap.
 2. The winder of claim 1, wherein the winding disk comprises an aperture for a user to manually rotate the winding disk.
 3. The winder of claim 1, wherein the winding disk and the cover form an enclosure for storing the strap.
 4. The winder of claim 1, wherein the split flange and the opening in the disk portion and the opening in the wall portion align to receive the strap.
 5. The winder of claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a raised portion for securing an end of the strap to the wall portion.
 6. The winder of claim 1, wherein the cover comprises an opening, wherein the opening is used for storing or organizing the winder.
 7. A method for winding a strap, the method comprising: aligning an opening in a flange of a spindle; rotating the winding disk until the opening of the flange is aligned with the opening in a disk portion of a cover, and an opening in a wall portion of the cover; placing an end of the strap in the opening of the spindle and the opening of the disk portion of the cover wherein the strap extends through the opening on the wall portion of the cover; and rotating a winding disk to wind the strap around the spindle. 